Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-110

§6415 Definitions

Title 16 › CHAPTER 83 — CORAL REEF CONSERVATION › § 6415

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Defines key words used in the chapter so everyone knows what the words mean when the law talks about coral reefs, the people who manage them, and the actions to protect them. Administrator: the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Alaska Native Corporation: the Native Corporation as defined by federal law. Appropriate congressional committees: the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee. Conservation: activities to protect and keep coral reefs healthy, like monitoring, mapping, restoration, law enforcement, education, and safe boating. Coral: main coral groups such as black, stony, soft, blue, and fire corals. Coral products: any living or dead coral, coral parts, or items made from coral. Coral reef: hard, calcium-based reef or shoal built by corals and related organisms. Coral reef ecosystem: corals plus the plants, animals, and physical processes that affect them. Coral reef ecosystem services: benefits from reefs like coastal protection, habitat for valuable species, places for cultural practices, and beauty. Covered Native entity: a Native group with interests in a reef. Covered reef manager: a state reef manager, a covered State, or a coral reef stewardship partnership. Covered State: Florida, Hawaii, and the territories of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Federal reef manager: a federal agency unit in charge of a reef (NOAA, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, or Office of Insular Affairs) or a stewardship partnership. Institution of higher education: as defined by federal law. Interested stakeholder groups: businesses, commercial or recreational fishers, recreation users, government units, colleges, and nongovernmental organizations with reef interests. National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy: the national strategy in effect. Native entity: Indian tribes, Alaska Native Corporations, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Native Hawaiian organizations. Nonprofit organization: a not-for-profit group working for science, education, charity, or similar public purposes. Restoration: actions to improve, rebuild, or create functioning reefs in their historical range to provide ecological, cultural, or coastal benefits. Resilience: a reef’s ability to resist and recover from damage, measured by clear science-based standards. Secretary: the Secretary of Commerce. State: any U.S. state or territory that contains coral reefs. Stewardship: conservation, restoration, and public outreach. Task Force: the United States Coral Reef Task Force.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §6415

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this chapter:

(1)Administrator (2) Alaska Native Corporation

The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

(3)Appropriate congressional committees

The term “appropriate congressional committees” means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.

(4)Conservation

The term “conservation” means the use of methods and procedures necessary to preserve or sustain native corals and associated species as diverse, viable, and self-perpetuating coral reef ecosystems with minimal impacts from invasive species, including—

(A)all activities associated with resource management, such as monitoring, assessment, protection, restoration, sustainable use, management of habitat, and maintenance or augmentation of genetic diversity;

(B)mapping;

(C)scientific expertise and technical assistance in the development and implementation of management strategies for marine protected areas and marine resources required by Federal law;

(D)law enforcement;

(E)conflict resolution initiatives;

(F)community outreach and education; and

(G)promotion of safe and ecologically sound navigation and anchoring.

(5)Coral

The term “coral” means species of the phylum Cnidaria, including—

(A)all species of the orders Antipatharia (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), Alcyonacea (soft corals, organ pipe corals, gorgonians), and Helioporacea (blue coral), of the class Anthozoa; and

(B)all species of the order Anthoathecata (fire corals and other hydrocorals) of the class Hydrozoa.

(6)Coral products

The term “coral products” means any living or dead specimens, parts, or derivatives, or any product containing specimens, parts, or derivatives, of any species of coral.

(7)Coral reef

The term “coral reef” means calcium carbonate structures in the form of a reef or shoal, composed in whole or in part by living coral, skeletal remains of coral, crustose coralline algae, and other associated sessile marine plants and animals.

(8)Coral reef ecosystem

The term “coral reef ecosystem” means—

(A)corals and other geographically and ecologically associated marine communities of other reef organisms (including reef plants and animals) associated with coral reef habitat; and

(B)the biotic and abiotic factors and processes that control or significantly affect coral calcification rates, tissue growth, reproduction, recruitment, abundance, coral-algal symbiosis, and biodiversity in such habitat.

(9)Coral reef ecosystem services

The term “coral reef ecosystem services” means the attributes and benefits provided by coral reef ecosystems including—

(A)protection of coastal beaches, structures, and infrastructure;

(B)habitat for organisms of economic, ecological, biomedical, medicinal, and cultural value;

(C)serving as centers for the promulgation, performance, and training of cultural practices representative of traditional ecological knowledge; and

(D)aesthetic value.

(10)Covered Native entity

The term “covered Native entity” means a Native entity with interests in a coral reef ecosystem.

(11)Covered reef manager

The term “covered reef manager” means—

(A)a management unit of a covered State with jurisdiction over a coral reef ecosystem;

(B)a covered State; or

(C)a coral reef stewardship partnership under section 6405 of this title.

(12)Covered State

The term “covered State” means Florida, Hawaii, and the territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands.

(13)Federal reef manager

(A)In general

The term “Federal reef manager” means—

(i)a management unit of a Federal agency specified in subparagraph (B) with lead management jurisdiction over a coral reef ecosystem; or

(ii)a coral reef stewardship partnership under section 6405(c) of this title.

(B)Federal agencies specified

A Federal agency specified in this subparagraph is one of the following:

(i)The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

(ii)The National Park Service.

(iii)The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

(iv)The Office of Insular Affairs.

(14)Institution of higher education

The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given that term in section 1001 of title 20.

(15)Interested stakeholder groups

The term “interested stakeholder groups” means any of the following with interest in an applicable coral reef or ecologically significant unit of a coral reef:

(A)A business.

(B)A commercial or recreational fisherman.

(C)A recreationalist.

(D)A Federal, State, Tribal, or local government unit with related jurisdiction.

(E)An institution of higher education (as such term is defined in section 1001(a) of title 20.

(F)A nongovernmental organization.

(16)National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy

The term “National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy” means the National Coral Reef Resilience Strategy in effect under section 6403 of this title.

(17)Native entity

The term “Native entity” means any of the following:

(A)An Indian Tribe (as defined in section 5304 of title 25).

(B)An Alaska Native Corporation.

(C)The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

(D)The Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

(E)A Native Hawaiian organization (as defined in section 7517 of title 20).

(18)Nonprofit organization

The term “nonprofit organization” means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization, not including an institution of higher education, that—

(A)is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest;

(B)is not organized primarily for profit; and

(C)uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operations of the organization.

(19)Restoration

The term “restoration” means the use of methods and procedures necessary to enhance, rehabilitate, recreate, or create a functioning coral reef or coral reef ecosystem, in whole or in part, within suitable waters of the historical geographic range of such ecosystems, to provide ecological, economic, cultural, or coastal resiliency services associated with healthy coral reefs and benefit native populations of coral reef organisms.

(20)Resilience

The term “resilience” means the capacity for corals within their native range, coral reefs, or coral reef ecosystems to resist and recover from natural and human disturbances, and maintain structure and function to provide coral reef ecosystem services, as determined by clearly identifiable, measurable, and science-based standards.

(21)Secretary

The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Commerce.

(22)State

The term “State” means—

(A)any State of the United States that contains a coral reef ecosystem within its seaward boundaries;

(B)American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the United States Virgin Islands; or

(C)any other territory or possession of the United States or separate sovereign in free association with the United States that contains a coral reef ecosystem within its seaward boundaries.

(23)Stewardship

The term “stewardship”, with respect to a coral reef, includes conservation, restoration, and public outreach and education.

(24)Task Force

The term “Task Force” means the United States Coral Reef Task Force established under section 6451 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 6415

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110